CO-SPONSORSHIP SPEECH

Senate Bill No. 2890

by Senate President Pro-Tempore RalphG. Recto10 August 2015It has been said that a governmentsgreatness is measured by how it treatsthose who are in the dawn of life, thechildren; those who are in the twilight of life,the elderly; and those who are in theshadows of life, the sick, the needy and thehandicapped.The same test applies to Congress as well,where on tax matters, we will be adjudgedmore by how we have helped those whohave fallen through cracks, than by how wewere able to plug the leaks.Mr. President:This bill is about those in the shadows thehidden many who do not have the muscle tolobby, nor possess the powerful voice for

them to be heard above the clamor of the

political season.Some are not capable of speech. But theirmuted state explains far more eloquentlythan words could ever be on why this billmust be passed.This bill has two aims:First, to exempt persons with disability(PWDs) from paying the VAT on certaingoods and services.Second, to provide additional income taxexemption to those who are caring for aPWD.Among the goods and services to be takenout of VAT coverage are medicines; medicaland dental services; hospital and laboratoryfees; and local transport fares.So if a PWD rides a plane, train, ship or busto any local place, he will not pay the salestax on the ticket. And if, upon reaching his

destination, he orders food in a restaurant in

the hotel where he is checked in, he doesnot pay a VAT on both.Second, this bill seeks to make a personwith disability a dependent for income taxpurposes.A child, parent, or even a legal guardian of aPWD, regardless of age, who is incapableof self-support, can therefore claimadditional tax exemption for the saiddependent.The tax deduction is the same as what iscurrently claimed by a parent of a child notover the age of 21, which is 25,000 pesosannually.Because the bill specifies the caregiver asthe one who can avail of the exemption,then a child who has a disabled parent inhis care under his roof can claim the taxrelief.This is in response to the situation faced by

millions of families today who have turned

their residences into homes for the aged.This is so because we have a culture whichfrowns upon the practice of letting strangerscare for a parent. Even for those who arewilling and wealthy enough to buckconvention, there are few such facilitieshere.This has forced many of us to put hospitalbeds in our roomswith a pharmacy wecan barely stockto care for our elders whodraw comfort from familiar faces, as muchas from modern medicine.It is only right to remove the age criteria fora PWD-dependent because caring for himor her does not have a fixed expiry date. Inmany cases, it extends from cradle to grave.So before those who have a zero-toleranceagainst tax breaks can whip out theircalculators and show the multiple zeros toscare us that this bill will hemorrhage funds,the question that should be asked of them

first is this: Is P25,000 a lavish or labis

reimbursement for the annual cost of caringfor a PWD? Or is it kulang?The parents of an autistic child who makeends meet to pay for an exhausting andexpensive care for their child will say: It isnot enough.The guardians of a paraplegic who pushhim up footbridges so he can attend schooland himself to his dreams will say: It is notenough.The children of those in the twilight of lifewho are slowly being robbed of memoriesbut still rage, rage against the dying of thelight, will say: It is not enough.The siblings of a teener who had and wouldnever see a sunrise, or the glow of a fullmoon, who sees the world through theraised dots in a paper, will say: It is notenough.In fact, Mr. President, even if we pass this

bill, and even if we make it more generous,

it wont be enough to pay for what we owethe PWD nation.So let this be just our continuingamortization of the huge debt we owe themas we vow to increase our subsequentpayments.For example, with the budget season aboutto start, we can install more and wideraccessibility ramps in next years nationalbudget.In the current years budget, there is a P100million earmark for the purchase of booksand equipment for special education. Weshould expand this next year.We can also attach a special provision tothe DepED budget which pegs the numberof special education classrooms to be builtnext year.Also in the 2015 budget is a provision whichreserves the supply of 15 percent of all

school furniture to cooperatives run and

managed by PWDs. This procurementearmark is worth P180 million.This provision should also be applied toother goods as well. Yearly, we have a longshopping list of equipment which manyqualified PWD coops can supply.We should insist on this because PWDsthemselves would tell us that the best formof help is a hand up, not a hand out.We should include PWDs in the CCTprogram because in the hardship index,none is more deserving of assistance than adisabled person, crippled by poverty.We should do away with conditionalitiesbecause disability in itself is the bestprecondition for enrolment.Also in the DSWD budget, we shouldincrease its scandalously-low budget of P11million for assistance to persons withdisability.

We should direct more public works funds to

construction activities that will make streets,sidewalks, pedestrian overpasses, publicbuildings, highways fully compliant withaccessibility laws.And to enforce this, we can even commandthe DPWH to hire PWD consultants tocheck on the quality of work.I am mentioning these, Mr. President,because increasing the funds for PWDsprograms require initiatives in both therevenue and appropriations side.So whats the best companion measure tothis bill? It is without doubt the nationalbudget.We should do all of the above, in addition topassing this bill, because it has been saidthat the worst kind of disability is beingparalyzed from coming to the aid of thosewho need help.

Much remains to be done. Let me say,

however, that we cannot be accused ofhaving Attention Deficit Disorder withrespect to the plight of the PWDs.I already mentioned the various budgetinitiatives which, I will be the first toconcede, need to be increased andexpanded.Second, let me point out that in the lastCongress, when it was the Senior Angarawho was here and not the Better Angara,the bill on granting higher income taxexemptions for PWDs, which I authored,was passed by the Senate, and the Housepassed its version too, but failed to bereconciled by a bicameral conference.There is also the apprehension that this billwill be hard to implement, a fear beingfanned so as to abort it, but which falls flaton its face on two counts. First, theresalready a system being followed withrespect to VAT exemptions granted toseniors; second, on the matter of increasing

tax deductions for PWDs, it will not

complicate filing as much as the newcomplicated ITRs do.Implementation can be hurdled. Yes, workneeds to be done, but this pales incomparison to the handicap and hardshipthat PWDs have to overcome every day.The challenge is to do more for thembecause at 1.6 million, both their numberand the neglect they suffer are too manyand too severe to be ignored.Maraming salamat po.